Effective Local Government
The big moment is here. You’ve done your due diligence by: reviewing any emergency declarations affecting local government meetings in your state, studying how your body can proceed in light of the Coronavirus/COVID-19 emergency, planning with your staff, consulting your attorney, and choosing an online platform. You’re all set to launch your first totally…
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The basic principle underlying conflict of interest is easy to state but applying it in real-life cases can be complicated. In a nutshell, when you accept a position on a local government body or a nonprofit board, you are obliged to put the interests of the organization above your own personal interest, and you can’t…
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It is a basic principle of parliamentary procedure that the decision of the majority, voting at a properly called meeting, is the decision of the body as a whole. The members whose views did not prevail are bound to go along with the majority. This goes back deep in time, to the origins of our…
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Local governments face a tough climate these days. Customs of courtesy have faded and people are often both passionate and rude about their issues. If you are a mayor or presiding officer of a public body, it is critical that you control disorder in your chambers. Council meetings are meetings of the council The basic…
Read MoreToday is our primary election in Washington State. Seattle Times writer Kate Riley has published an insightful column about “my favorite politicians.”
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Everyone wants effective meeting management, but how do we get there? The secret is to get all the participants on the same page. We suggest that you download our Sample Discussion Guidelines and spend 30 minutes talking about them with your group. We offer Sample Discussion Guidelines for Nonprofit Boards and Sample Discussion Guidelines for…
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Guest post by Tami A. Tanoue, CIRSA Executive Director Those who have been working with municipalities for an extended period have observed a phenomenon that occurs at the governing body level. Let’s call this phenomenon the Outlier Syndrome.
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This post offers our readers a brilliant paper by municipal attorney Brett Vinson on the dangers of public comment. Anyone involved in receiving comment from the public during meetings will find it interesting and valuable. Read about the Nazi salute in Santa Cruz, singing a Whitney Houston song to express love for a councilmember, and…
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Guest post by Bob Jean, ICMA/WMCA Senior Advisor Got a really hot issue and a divided community? Too often, if you hold a traditional public hearing to deal with it, you run the risk that each side will simply line up and use their three minutes to tell the Council how terrible they are no…
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The City of Olympia has given us permission to share this quick-guide poster, which you may adapt for your own meetings.
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